Salvadoran salsa dancers come to Q’Viva!

I was contacted many times with the opportunity to interview any of the contestants of Jennifer Lopez’s and Marc Anthony’s new show, Q’Viva The Chosen. I responded that if they had any contestants who were Salvadoran, I’d be interested.

Latinaish: I saw your auditions with Marc Anthony in Q’Viva and it’s very clear that you guys are professional dancers and that you love to dance. At what age did you start learning to dance?

Junior: We love what we do! We have been dancing salsa for 12 years together. Emily started when she was 10 years old and I started when I was 14 years old. It’s an incredible feeling to do what you love and to do with your sister. To be able to travel and share amazing and unforgettable moments with family.

Latinaish: You guys dance salsa but do you like other types of dance as well?

Junior: We love all types of music and dance. Our specialty is salsa but we also do other types of social dances.

Latinaish: What are your favorite songs to dance to right now?

Junior: We love to dance to everything! As of right now we have been very into doing music by Rodrigo y Gabriela.

Latinaish: You guys are siblings and you have a lot of chemistry when you dance together, but siblings have a tendency to argue and annoy each other. What does your brother/sister do that annoys you more than anything?

Junior: We have learned to work together. We have learned to separate the personal and the professional. We have been dancing for 12 years together so like everything else, it’s a learning process. The thing that we try and focus on most is pushing each other past our comfort zone and constantly pushing limits. We always have to keep each other positive and motivated when things get really tough because for us it’s a never-ending process to create new limits and continue to innovate.

Latinaish: Your biography says that you’re from San Francisco, California – but I also heard you’re Salvadoran. My husband is from Soyapango, so I’m curious – who in your family is from El Salvador? Your father? Mother? (From what part?)

Junior: That’s exciting to hear that your husband is Salvadorean as well! We were both born and raised in San Francisco, California, but we currently live in Los Angeles, California. We are both half Salvadorean and half Korean. Our father is from Santa Ana, El Salvador and our mother is from Seoul, Korea.

Latinaish: Have you visited El Salvador?

Junior: We have been invited to perform in El Salvador before, but unfortunately we have never been able to go because of schedule conflicts. We would definitely love to visit someday!

Latinaish: In the Q’Viva competition, you guys represent the United States, but do you also feel like you represent El Salvador?

Junior: Yes, we were representing the USA, but we definitely felt that we represented El Salvador as well. Our parents divorced when we were really young and we were raised by our father. We were brought up knowing only our Salvadorean side of the family. It was such an honor to represent both countries.

Latinaish: What else can you tell us about your part on the show Q’Viva?

Junior: Q’Viva was an amazing and unforgettable experience for us. It was so incredible to see such amazing talent from all over the world and for us to be a part of that was an honor. We definitely were extremely excited and nervous at the same time performing for Marc, Jennifer, and Jamie. It will be a moment that we will never forget!

Very dissapointed with the lack of effort in not looking in all latin countries for at least one representative from each country. All the salsa dancers, charros, gauchos & tango dancers that obviously appeal to the general audience. I belive that the producers of the show didnt do their homework & research in the typical dolk of each country. I am from Peru, a country full of history, rich folklore music & dance. Music that can make the guitar cry, dances that express the beauty & history of a country. Sad & dissapointing the whole process. Not an effort to show the entire latin culture. I started watching in tears listenimg to the sad stories to later realize it was just geared to the general audience & possible ratings. Jennifer I think you didnt try hard enough to capture “all” the latin culture. You did on the other hand spend a lot of time in Puerto Rico, which is, sorry to tell you, part of the USA. You spent time in Chile & Argentina, what about Paraguay, Uruguay, Costa Rica were those countries not part of your map???? I am sure they are just as dissapointed as I am

Lida – While overall I think the show is a positive thing, I very strongly agree with you that they should have found at least one person actually living in each Latin American country. When I was in El Salvador I saw so many talented people just working in the streets and I wasn’t searching for them. I have a hard time believing they couldn’t find amazing individuals there and in other countries that aren’t being represented. It’s disappointing for those who are from those nations not to be represented.

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